SPRINGFIELD- State Senator Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) passed a measure to end the Senate’s General Assembly retirement system.

Cullerton advanced Senate Bill 1404, which would mean the General Assembly Retirement System (GARS) would no longer accept new senators.

“It’s time to end extravagant perks,” Cullerton said. “Public service means doing what is best for our state, and ending the General Assembly pension system is a step in the right direction.”

Cullerton is one of at least 20 active legislators who do not collect a pension from GARS.

“I’m in Springfield to do the work of the people of the 23rd District,” Cullerton said. “I didn’t run for office for the lavish perks but to make a difference and be a strong advocate for our communities.”

Senate Bill 1404 passed the Senate’s Committee on Licensed Activities and Pensions with bipartisan support and now moves to the full Senate for consideration.

SPRINGFIELD- State Senator Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) has started tackling obstacles found during the Veterans Suicide Taskforce hearings.

Cullerton advanced Senate Bill 1693 to allow deceased veterans with military service to include their veteran status, branch of military and the period of time served in the military on their death certificate.

“We need to get to the cause of veteran suicide,” Cullerton said. “The only way to tackle the problem is to have a complete picture. This is a simple way to collect statistics and honor Illinois’ veterans.”

The idea was suggested by DuPage County Coroner Richard Jorgenson, who indicated that veteran suicide was under reported since Illinois death certificates do not include information on the history of U.S. military service.

“These are our nation’s heroes. They took care of us, now it is our time to take care of them,” Cullerton said. “Every life we save is priceless.”

Cullerton also advanced Senate Bill 866 to require the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) to provide information and education on service animals to veterans.

Under current law, the DVA isn’t required to provide information or resources on how a veteran might obtain a service animal.

“The DVA should be a one-stop shop for our veterans,” Cullerton said. “There is a stigma within the veterans’ community on receiving traditional treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. We haven’t been able to explore the effects of using service dogs as alternative treatments since there is a lack of awareness in the veterans’ community.”

Cullerton hopes this small step will help make service dogs readily available to veterans to cope with PTSD. There is a high demand from returning veterans for service dogs as alternative treatment. However, trained dogs can be difficult to find.

“Using service dogs as treatment for PTSD could one of the keys to ending the veteran suicide epidemic,” Cullerton said.

SPRINGFIELD- DuPage County’s successful government consolidation model is expected to save taxpayers more than $100 million over the next 20 years.

To take local government consolidation to the next level in Illinois, State Senator Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) passed Senate Bill 3, which will spread DuPage County’s bipartisan government consolidation model statewide.

“It’s important that we continue to explore different methods to make sure government is working for Illinois residents,” Cullerton said. “The best way to lower property taxes is to empower voters to get rid duplicate forms of government. This is one small step we can take to lower property taxes without sacrificing the quality of government service.”

Senate Bill 3 allows counties to dissolve certain units of local government through a voter referendum. Cullerton knows these savings allow for lower property tax rates and provide residents with necessary services.

Cullerton passed Senate Bill 494 in 2013, which created the DuPage County government consolidation model used in Senate Bill 3. County Board Chairman Dan Cronin and Cullerton worked to create an innovative government consolidation model that can be adapted to work throughout the state.

The head of the Illinois Municipal League (IML) applauded Cullerton’s efforts.

“We ran a tight ship for taxpayers when I was Villa Park Village President. I’m taking the lessons I learned to the state level,” Cullerton said. “My goal is to save money, reduce taxes and make sure government is working for the people. This legislation accomplishes just that.”

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